Boris Johnson vs Jeremy Hunt: PM candidates' policies on Brexit, NHS and more

Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt are battling it out to be the next Prime Minister of the UK.

The winner will enter 10 Downing Street on Wednesday 24 July wielding immense power over tax, the NHS, immigration – and of course Brexit .

Only 160,000 Conservative Party members get a vote for our PM, and Boris Johnson is the runaway favourite.

But even if you don’t get to vote for them, it’s still important to know what these two men stand for.

Their policies won’t just affect you personally. They’ll also affect the public finances after years of austerity, with experts the IFS warning both candidates’ pledges are very expensive.

We’ve compared their policies on Brexit and everything else under the sun. We’re not looking at their voting records here; that’s a whole other story; but what they pledge in future.

Brexit

BORIS JOHNSON: He promised to leave the EU “do or die” by October 31 and ruled out a further delay. This could force us into a No Deal Brexit – despite Mr Johnson claiming the odds are a million to one. His Plan A is to tear up Britain’s 585-page Withdrawal Agreement with the EU and instead look at “alternative arrangements” to keep the Irish border open, later in time. Plan B is to leave without a deal but prevent tariffs, using a rule called GATT 24 (which experts say is impossible). Plan C is to leave with no deal at all – which MPs would try to block in Parliament. So Mr Johnson has considered overruling MPs or even proroguing Parliament so they can’t vote against him. That in turn could prompt a no confidence vote in the entire government, which if successful triggers a general election.

JEREMY HUNT: He called October 31 a “fake deadline” – and would extend the date if a deal is within reach. He’s said GATT 24 is “factually” not possible to use for Brexit. But he would still choose No Deal if it meant avoiding no Brexit at all. And he agrees with Boris Johnson that the best option is to re-work Theresa May’s Withdrawal Agreement. The EU have already said they won’t do this, but Mr Hunt insists the UK must change the ‘backstop’ clause in the deal and set up technological arrangements for the Irish border.

Tax

BORIS JOHNSON: He pledged a huge tax cut for high earners – by moving the threshold at which 40% Income Tax kicks in from £50,000 to £80,000 a year. Experts said it would cost £9bn and help the richest 10%. He later said he’d prioritise tax cuts for the lowest paid, starting with a raise to what people can earn before paying National Insurance. Reports said he was considering an emergency budget with cuts to Stamp Duty – raising the threshold from £125,000 to £500,000 – and a huge hike to the annual investment allowance.

JEREMY HUNT: He would implement a massive £13bn corporation tax cut by slashing the rate from 19% to 12.5%. The rate has already been lowered from 28% since the Tories took power. Some of the money would be recovered in the long term through higher investment, but IFS experts say the Treasury will always be worse off.

NHS

BORIS JOHNSON: He told Tory members the health service needs “more money” and “reform” but did not immediately spell out what this meant. He ruled out a pay-for-access NHS under his watch if there’s a post-Brexit trade deal with the US.

JEREMY HUNT: As the longest-serving Health Secretary ever he admitted he could have communicated better during the junior doctors’ strike – finally resolved in June 2019 after four years. He also admitted Tory cuts to social care went too far on his watch.

Immigration

BORIS JOHNSON: He aped Nigel Farage and announced plans for an Australian-style points system for migrants to the UK. But he also said he’d be “much more open” for so-called high-skilled migrants. He also pledged to guarantee the rights of EU citizens already living in the UK to stay.

JEREMY HUNT: He wants to bring immigration numbers down but would ditch the Tories’ forever-failed target of getting net migration below 100,000 a year. He would review the £30,000 salary minimum for those arriving to work from overseas.

Knife crime

BORIS JOHNSON: He said police need more money to get officers on the streets and a pledge to increase numbers by 20,000 – about the number cut by the Tories – was “right”. But he didn’t give a firm commitment. He backs stop-and-search and pledged to give police the political protection “to do what they signed up to do”.

JEREMY HUNT: He said his own party’s austerity cuts to police budgets had gone “too far”, and committed to increasing police numbers. But he didn’t give a firm figure either.

Defence

BORIS JOHNSON: No major commitments at the time of writing.

JEREMY HUNT: He pledged a massive £15bn a year increase in defence spending by 2023. This would be by raising the percentage of GDP that goes on defence from 2% to 2.5%. Experts say this raises questions over whether he’ll fulfil other pledges, like for education.

Welfare

BORIS JOHNSON: No major commitments at the time of writing.

JEREMY HUNT: He refused to say if he believed the rollout of Universal Credit has pushed people to food banks – and signalled he wouldn’t halt it. He told the Mirror Universal Credit is “the right way forward” but said elements could be reviewed to “make sure we do it in the fairest possible way.”

LGBT rights

BORIS JOHNSON: He famously referred to gay people as “tank-topped bum boys” in an old column but has backed teaching of LGBT relationships in schools. He said “it’s important that kids are taught about the world as it is” and “I don’t think kids should be unreasonably taken out of school.”

JEREMY HUNT: He also backed schools teaching LGBT relationships and said there must be “no stone unturned” in ensuring they can. Being gay, he said, is like being left handed – “it is something you are born with… so we have to recognise that every child needs to understand that.”

TV licences

BORIS JOHNSON: We’ve not had a firm commitment.

JEREMY HUNT: He vowed to U-turn and keep free TV licences for all over-75s. He agreed the Tories broke a manifesto pledge by passing responsibility for the benefit to the BBC. The BBC, in turn, plans to scrap free licences for anyone who isn’t on Pension Credit from summer 2020.

Education

BORIS JOHNSON: He said he would made sure secondary schools spend £5,000 per pupil. But Schools Week analysis showed this could be just £48.6m – or a 0.1% increase in overall school spending.

JEREMY HUNT: He’d cancel tuition fee debts for young entrepreneurs who start businesses and employ people.

High streets

BORIS JOHNSON: He would keep free-to-use ATMs open by ending business rates on free to use cash machines in town centres. And he says he would use the £675m Future High Street Fund to support and fund local areas’ plans to update town centres.

JEREMY HUNT: He’d reform business rates in a move he claims would save thousands of small shops £6,500 a year. Currently shops qualifying for the Retail Discount – those with a “rateable value” under £51,000 – get a third off their bill. He’d change that to wipe out the bill completely.

High Speed 2

BORIS JOHNSON: He pledged an almost instant review into “whether and how” the £56bn link from London to the Midlands and North should go ahead. He added there are “anxieties” about the business case and it’ll cause “a great deal of difficulties” for his constituents in Uxbridge and South Ruislip. 

JEREMY HUNT: He described it as “absolutely vital” and hailed it as a way to “spread prosperity to the whole country”. He also said he supports the Northern Powerhouse Rail. Several Tory MPs have seats along the route and oppose HS2 so this is a key sticking point.

Heathrow third runway

BORIS JOHNSON: He once vowed to lie down in front of bulldozers but he’s now softened opposition. The MP said he still has “grave reservations”, but said he would instead follow court cases “very closely” as prime minister.

JEREMY HUNT: He is clear: he would back the expansion which has already been signed off by Parliament.